Confessions of a Food Junkie, Part 2

In the last post I mentioned how my undying love of food has slowly begun to change the shape of my body. Go figure. In this post, I'll be attempting to tackle the other end of the health continuum, physical activity.

Growing up, I was always involved in some type of sport. It began with T-ball then flowed into softball, soccer, basketball, and tennis. Soccer proved to be my sport of choice, giving 9 years of my youth to it. I was definitely a kid who thoroughly enjoyed being outside instead of watching tv. Oh, how the tides have turned. When music became my passion, all other sports activities pretty much fizzled. I never did any intramural sports in college because those people were downright competitive, and I'd lost about 4 years of athletic skills. I did go to the gym in moderate spurts throughout college. Never could get a solid routine going for more than 3 months at a time though.

Nowadays, I don't do anything. Like most Americans, my day at work is spent staring at a computer screen, sitting on my rump, breathing. When I come home, I immediately begin dinner preparations and cleaning/organizing the house. I have been watching much less tv lately, but I'm still not using that time to do physical activity.

And it's not that I don't desire to be doing physical activity, I suppose I could rationalize it to the point of resources. To be honest, I've checked out several local gyms and fitness centers, and it's not the monthly fees that are horrendous, it's the dang membership fees and length of contract. Well, God must have heard the groanings and intercession of the Spirit on my behalf. Our church is offering an 8-week Boot Camp beginning on the 12th and it's only $20! Now that's what I'm talking about. Call me crazy for even considering it, because it begins at 5:45 a.m. and it's three days a week.

I truly am excited about it, even though I know my butt will be swiftly and appropriately kicked. Better yet, my husband will be there too; witnessing my feeble attempts at timed runs and push-ups. Somebody kill me now.

I know I said in the previous post that I don't have an "all or nothing" mentality, but for physical activity's sake, I do. It's more of a "do or die" thing for me. So in all seriousness, I covet your prayers for this. For continued motivation, the ability to get up that early, to not be cranky towards my husband, etc. I'm hoping that by having him do it with me, it will give me much needed accountability.

What are some of your secrets for long-lasting motivation or stamina? Having taken some courses in Behavior Modification, I know that rewards will have to come into play at some point. And sadly, they won't be edible rewards anymore. I'm thinking a manicure or something...